Lucy’s life by the pond has always been full. She has water and friends, laughter and the love of her adoptive mother, Lynn, who has made sure that Lucy’s childhood was very different from her own. Yet it seems Lucy’s future is settled already—a house, a man, children, and a water source—and anything beyond their life by the pond is beyond reach.

When disease burns through their community, the once life-saving water of the pond might be the source of what’s killing them now. Rumors of desalinization plants in California have lingered in Lynn’s mind, and the prospect of a “normal” life for Lucy sets the two of them on an epic journey west to face new dangers: hunger, mountains, deserts, betrayal, and the perils of a world so vast that Lucy fears she could be lost forever, only to disappear in a handful of dust.

In this companion to Not a Drop to Drink, Mindy McGinnis thrillingly combines the heart-swelling hope of a journey, the challenges of establishing your own place in the world, and the gripping physical danger of nature in a futuristic frontier.

After reading and being blown away by Not A Drop to Drink, I was expecting nothing less from In A Handful of Dust. Let me just tell you, this book surpassed my expectations by a mile.

Not only did I love the allusions back to Not A Drop to Drink (which brought back all of the feels), but the new story set years later was just as emotional, intense, and amazing as its companion. In this book we don’t get one inspiring female protagonist but two: Lucy and Lynn. Going into this book I wasn’t sure just how much of the characters from Drop were going to be in Dust, but I was pleasantly surprised to find that Lynn played a major role in the storyline. We really get to see how the events of Drop affected her life in Dust. The character development throughout the book for both characters was so well done, packed with emotion and completely raw that every scenario in this book was full of realism.

The story is every bit as action-packed, dark, and wired as Drop, and Mindy McGinnis doesn’t steer away from the sometimes not-so-nice truths of life and humanity. There is absolutely no romance in this book, which I can’t have been more thankful for. Although I’m a girl who loves a good romance, I like a story that can stand on its own without romance stealing the show. Both of these books are refreshingly free of that, focusing mainly on the more familial relationships and friendships that are formed during the worst of times.

Overall, I cannot fully express my love for these books through just a simple review. You really must read these books for yourself to understand just how amazing they truly are. Shocking and emotionally charged, In A Handful of Dust did not disappoint.

*Although this is a companion novel to Not A Drop to Drink, I do recommend reading In A Handful of Dust after, as it spoils things from Drop, and I believe you will just appreciate it more having read the other first!

In Life

Well, I wrote one post for all of last week, needless to say I was busy with everything BUT blogging, unfortunately. School is, well, school and the workload is way more than I could have ever expected, but I’m pushing through because I don’t really have a choice! Whenever I have a free moment I wish I could say I spend it picking up a book but I am so tired by the time I finish school and homework that I only feel like watching TV or sleeping, so basically doing brainless activity, which of course reading a book is NOT.

So what TV shows am I watching during my brainless after school hours instead of reading like I really want to, you ask? Well, a bunch.

The Blacklist – This show is just so well-written and I love every actor that’s in it. The one “crime” show that I do watch, and I’m obsessed with it. James Spader is a genius. I can’t even explain my love for Reddington!

Red Band Society – This show is so sweet and not depressing at all, despite the overall theme of kids living in a hospital. I’m a fan, and these new up and coming actors are awesome!

How to Get Away With Murder – I’m not gonna lie, I watch this show for Alfie Enoch (Dean Thomas from Harry Potter), but the show really is fantastic and mind-bending. Definitely recommend you check it out if you’re into that kind of thing.

Once Upon A Time – I’m sad, guys. The premiere episode was really lackluster for me. Probably because I (still) haven’t seen Disney’s Frozen. But I’m just not loving this show as much as I did last season… 😦

That’s my lame excuse for lack of reading, and in turn, lack of blog posts for last week. I feel like I keep making excuses but I REFUSE to stop blogging even through all of the business. I love books and blogging too much to so! 😉

In Books

I am so excited to show you guys all the wonderful and amazing books that I got in these past two weeks. EEEE!!!

Rush by Eve Silver (Thanks to YA Bound Book Tours and Eve Silver!)The Walls Around Us by Nova Ren Suma (Thanks to Algonquin YR!)Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas (Thanks, Grandma!)Unforgotten by Jessica Brody (Thanks, Grandma!)In A Handful of Dust by Mindy McGinnis (Bought)

Portraits of Celina by Sue Whiting (Thanks to Switch Press and NetGalley)

I cannot express my excitement for all of these books, especially combined! Rush has been on my TBR forever and I haven’t read a sci-fi book in the longest time, so I’m definitely planning on picking that one up soon. The Walls Around Us comes out in March of next year, so that one is a little further down on my TBR pile but I CAN’T wait to read it. I think I may end up picking it up sooner than anticipated. I’ve been meaning to buy Throne of Glass and Unforgotten for the longest time so thanks Grandma for the belated birthday gift! And of course I just HAD to purchase In A Handful of Dust the week that it came out because I am still obsessed with Drop, since I read it way back in August 2013! Last but not least I had to request an eARC of Portraits of Celina because it looks really creepy and awesome to read sometime this month with Halloween approaching faster than I want to even think about!

~

I’m currently reading Love and Other Unknown Variables by Shannon Lee Alexander, and while I am loving the frequent Harry Potter series references, I’m not a huge fan of the main character Charlie (yet). I’m only a little ways in, though, so we shall see how I turn out liking it in my review that will be up next week!

In Blogging

I’m finally getting caught up on reading a bunch of other blog posts, as well as commenting, etc. So here are a few of the posts that stood out to me while scrolling through my Bloglovin’ feed.

I also want to acknowledge everyone that has nominated me for various blog awards over the past couple of months. Thank you all so, so much! It really means the world to me and warms my heart to know that people like what I post. If I had endless amounts of time I would write a post in response to each and every one of you lovely bloggers that have nominated me, but as I’ve mentioned numerous times, my life is crazy right now. But I want you all to know how much it means to me to be nominated by such wonderful people as yourselves. Thank you all so much! ❤ xx

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Breaking the Spine in which we share a book that we are eagerly anticipating!

Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books

Release Date: September 23, 2014

Synopsis from Goodreads:

The only thing bigger than the world is fear.

Lucy’s life by the pond has always been full. She has water and friends, laughter and the love of her adoptive mother, Lynn, who has made sure that Lucy’s childhood was very different from her own. Yet it seems Lucy’s future is settled already—a house, a man, children, and a water source—and anything beyond their life by the pond is beyond reach.

When disease burns through their community, the once life-saving water of the pond might be the source of what’s killing them now. Rumors of desalinization plants in California have lingered in Lynn’s mind, and the prospect of a “normal” life for Lucy sets the two of them on an epic journey west to face new dangers: hunger, mountains, deserts, betrayal, and the perils of a world so vast that Lucy fears she could be lost forever, only to disappear in a handful of dust.

In this companion to Not a Drop to Drink, Mindy McGinnis thrillingly combines the heart-swelling hope of a journey, the challenges of establishing your own place in the world, and the gripping physical danger of nature in a futuristic frontier.

*hyperventilates*

*flails*

*faints*

When I heard there was going to be a companion to Not A Drop to Drink I actually got up and danced around the house for a little bit. That book was one that I read in one sitting and I closed the book and went “WOAH.” Everything about it was just so amazing and it gave me a MAJOR book hangover.

So, obviously when I heard about In A Handful of Dust I went crazy. AND on top of that it follows the story of one of the characters from Drop, but she’s all grown up now.

I just can’t put into words the level of excitement I have regarding this book.

Have you read Not A Drop to Drink? Did you love it as much as I did? Are you excited for In A Handful of Dust, too? Let’s talk!

Disclaimer

This blog is my hobby, and I do not receive compensation for any posts or reviews I write. Sometimes I receive ARCs for free from publishers or authors in exchange for an honest review. All reviews are my own thoughts and opinions, non-biased, and not at all influenced by authors or publishers, including promotional blog tour reviews. Book covers and synopses are taken from Goodreads.com unless otherwise noted. If you have a problem with anything featured on this site please, please, PLEASE feel free to contact me!

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